Clinical application of virtual reality to alleviate anxiety during oral surgery under local anesthesia

Abstract

PurposeMany patients are frightened or anxious about outpatient oral surgery under local anesthesia. This anxiety is further heightened by the fact that their view is obscured by a cloth during the procedure. This study investigated whether the use of virtual reality (VR) alleviated the anxiety felt by patients who required oral surgery other than extractions under local anesthesia. Materials and methodsWe used VR to alleviate anxiety concerning surgical operation for patients undergoing oral surgery under local anesthesia. A questionnaire survey, including the use of a visual analog scale (VAS), was carried out to compare patients who used VR with those who did not. ResultsIn the VR group (50 patients, mean age 56.5 ± 14.2 years), the reported VAS score for intraoperative and preoperative anxiety significantly decreased by –20.4 ± 24.1 mm, whereas in the non-VR group (53 patients, mean age 51.8 ± 9.2 years), it increased by 12.6 ± 28.4 mm (p < 0.0001). On the five-point scale of the postoperative questionnaire, 80 % of patients in the VR group reported a reduction in anxiety, and 82 % stated that they were satisfied. No patient exhibited any symptoms of cybersickness. ConclusionsThe present results demonstrate that the use of VR significantly alleviated intraoperative anxiety during a variety of oral surgical procedures under local anesthesia. Since the majority of patients in this study were middle-aged and older, the results also confirmed that VR provides a sufficient anxiolytic effect in patients of this age.